A police officer Raoul Moat shot has said he bears no malice towards the gunman but has expressed a desire to "move on".

PC David Rathband, 42, suffered severe injuries when he was shot eight days ago and says he is determined to return to his job as a serving officer once he recovers.

He was speaking after Moat's elder brother said the gunman's death had been 'like a public execution'.

Rathband said: "I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me, in particular those officers who came to my immediate aid at the scene and helped to save my life," he said in a statement today.

"All the medical and nursing staff who have cared for me have been fantastic and I am indebted to them. I have received lots of encouragement from police colleagues locally and from across the country.

"I am grateful to all those officers from many forces who have helped me and my family during the last week and to my own shift of officers, who have given me their full support.

"My family have lived in the north-east for some years now and I have always been impressed by the warmth of local people. The good wishes, cards and letters I have received, some from total strangers, have moved me greatly. I wish to personally thank the chief constable for her support, compassion and personal assurances to me and my family. She has been a tower of strength.

"I bear no malice towards the man who shot me but now wish to move on with my life. I am acutely aware of the impact events have had on many people and my thoughts are with them all, particularly the family of Chris Brown [whom Moat is believed to have killed]."

He added his injuries "will require significant adjustments in the future in all aspects of my life. I enjoy my job as a police officer and I am totally committed to serving the public. Although I face long-term term treatment, I am determined to return to duty as a police officer."

Moat, 37, killed himself with a sawn-off shotgun at 1.15am on Saturday after a six-hour standoff with police in Rothbury, Northumberland, prompting concern that the use of stun guns may have induced an involuntary muscle spasm that caused him to pull the trigger. He was overheard saying: "Nobody cares about me."

He is suspected of killing Chris Brown, 29, the new partner of his 22-year-old former girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart, before turning the gun on her. Within 24 hours, Moat went on to shoot Rathband who was in a patrol car in East Denton, on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The search for another gun used by Moat, a former bouncer, continued today as police carried out a sweep of the area surrounding Rothbury. Assistant Chief Constable Greg Vant, of Northumbria police, said: "There is some intelligence that Raoul Moat may have had more than one weapon and it is only prudent, with the safety of the public in mind, to rule out such a possibility."

Moat's estranged brother, Angus, 39, denied the gunman was a psychopath, and likened his death to a public execution.

He said his brother may have killed himself as the result of an involuntary reaction after being hit twice with a Taser stun gun. He is convinced he could have prevented his younger brother's death.

Angus Moat, a tax officer from Gateshead, said his brother was a sensitive person who may have been suffering from a breakdown when he shot Stobbart and Brown and then Rathband.

"He was just sitting there in the open, in no cover, crying about the fact he had no family and no dad and that nobody loved him," he said. "That was not true. He had loads of people but died believing he had none."

Moat said he loved his brother dearly although his actions had been "horrendous", and had felt powerless as he watched the "horror story" unfold on Friday evening. "As it was getting dark, I thought, 'It's all hotting up,'" he said.

He criticised the media's constant coverage of the events, and said the family would consider getting a second post-mortem into his brother's death as the official postmortem had made no mention of the stun guns.

Staff from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating events leading up to Moat's death, visited his family on Sunday.

The inquiry will look into why officers used Tasers on Moat during the standoff and consider whether Northumbria police took adequate action after a warning from Durham prison that Moat might intend to harm Stobbart after his release, on 1 July. Police were facing further embarrassment over the hunt after two T-shirts were found yards from where he had been camping.

An orange T-shirt – believed to be the distinctive top he was wearing as he was seen on CCTV camera in B&Q in Newcastle – was lying next to a light blue T-shirt at Wagtail farm, Rothbury.

The clothing was discovered by a newspaper photographer at 4pm on Sunday, around six metres (20ft) from where Moat had been camping at Thrum Rocks, near Rothbury.